Need to borrow a Leopard Install Disc

[Synchromesh]

I recently acquired a 12in 1.33GHz Powerbook G4. It's a nice little system but I decided to upgrade the hard disk which I did (that part was a pain). However, I ran into a problem with installation of OS.

I have an legit generic Apple OS X 10.5 disc in my possesion but sadly it's all scratched up. Since I've been using SL on my other system it wasn't a problem but SL won't work on a PPC machine anyway. So I'm wondering, is there anybody in Boston area who will let me borrow their Leopard disc to install on this system? I will bring my scratched disc as proof that it's legit. Of course can buy a beer or throw in a few $$ for the trouble.

This must be original Apple retail disc though and not a copy.

 

[MrCheeto]

Send it to me with the old hard drive (if you didn't format it and if it's working) and I'll migrate all of your old information (including the operating system you were using last) to your new drive.

In other words, you'll be right back where you were but with a lot more free space.

Just pay shipping and it's free. I live in Texas.

Thanks.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Get it off the torrents. You have a real copy, so it's not really THAT bad. Just stick it on a USB or DVD. Will save you the trouble trying to get one. I sold mine on eBay for $150 (yes, worth more than the $90 I paid at the Apple Store), so I'm thinking some people could be iffy about letting you borrow their copy.

 

[Giuly]

Get it off the torrents. You have a real copy, so it's not really THAT bad. Just stick it on a USB or DVD. Will save you the trouble trying to get one. I sold mine on eBay for $150 (yes, worth more than the $90 I paid at the Apple Store), so I'm thinking some people could be iffy about letting you borrow their copy.

It's the license for installing Leopard that you're buying along with the DVD, so downloading one and burning it isn't bad at all, because you still have the license, and that's what matters. Like burning a copy of a legit DVD to have a backup once the disk is scratched up, same thing, 100% legal.
Same thing for installing Tiger on a Mac that came with Tiger with a downloaded DVD. iTunes '09 on a Mac that came with it, MacOS 9, you name it.

Personally, I don't even have a problem with installing Leopard on a machine that came with Jaguar, because 100% of the money you pay for the overpriced DVD on eBay goes to some douchebag who ripped the DVD for himself anyways. Money doesn't arrive at Apple equals no monetary deficit for them, equals no lawyer knocking on my door. Even if you buy it "New" from Amazon, this is stock that is already paid, and they have no way to acquire new DVDs from Apple once sold - so even there, no profit for Apple.

 

[Synchromesh]

Send it to me with the old hard drive (if you didn't format it and if it's working) and I'll migrate all of your old information (including the operating system you were using last) to your new drive.

In other words, you'll be right back where you were but with a lot more free space.

Just pay shipping and it's free. I live in Texas.

Thanks.

Actually the old disk has 10.4.11 and I just wanted to update it to latest Leopard. Since I just purchased the system I don't have any of my own data on it so extracting the data is not the problem. I just need to install the new OS. But I appreciate the offer.

Get it off the torrents. You have a real copy, so it's not really THAT bad. Just stick it on a USB or DVD. Will save you the trouble trying to get one. I sold mine on eBay for $150 (yes, worth more than the $90 I paid at the Apple Store), so I'm thinking some people could be iffy about letting you borrow their copy.

I tried a friend's copy. It rejects it. I know it's good because he used it in his Intel Macbook before. He owned the original DVD too but I think it got lost so all he has is the backup. Powerbook does attempt to boot off my scratched up disc but dies before getting into first screen. I tested it with Restore Discs from an Intel Macbook and it gets to the installation screen but obviously won't install. So it's all obviously a pure software problem that I'm having here.

 

[Giuly]

Actually the old disk has 10.4.11 and I just wanted to update it to latest Leopard. Since I just purchased the system I don't have any of my own data on it so extracting the data is not the problem. I just need to install the new OS. But I appreciate the offer.



I tried a friend's copy. It rejects it. I know it's good because he used it in his Intel Macbook before. He owned the original DVD too but I think it got lost so all he has is the backup. Powerbook does attempt to boot off my scratched up disc but dies before getting into first screen. I tested it with Restore Discs from an Intel Macbook and it gets to the installation screen but obviously won't install. So it's all obviously a pure software problem that I'm having here.

Maybe your DVD drive is broken, then?
If the DVD works in your friend's Mac, then hook your PowerBook up the other Mac via a FireWire cable, hold the "T"-key powering it on. Now you have a really fancy external FireWire hard drive. Insert the DVD in the other Mac, hold "C" while powering on to boot from DVD. Now install Leopard to that "FireWire hard drive", and you're done.
Alternatively, your could try to remove the scratches.

Oh, and using a borrowed copy is the same as downloading a torrent, as you don't have a license for both of them. Physical media doesn't count, it's just a way to transport a bunch of 0 and 1.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Yeah, if it's a CD drive issue, I'd just mount a copy on a USB drive that's 8GB or less. It should be okay that way. I actually have my external with a partition that's just the Snow Leopard install, that way I don't have to dig for a disk.

 

[whoda]

I tried a friend's copy. It rejects it. I know it's good because he used it in his Intel Macbook before. He owned the original DVD too but I think it got lost so all he has is the backup. Powerbook does attempt to boot off my scratched up disc but dies before getting into first screen. I tested it with Restore Discs from an Intel Macbook and it gets to the installation screen but obviously won't install. So it's all obviously a pure software problem that I'm having here.

Was it a retail (Black) version you tried? If it was the Restore (Grey) version, it must be the exact model, as it has a built in check. Retail version of Leopard is available from Apple. You just have to call Telesales.

 

[Synchromesh]

This isn't a DVD drive issue as a gray Restore Disc from Macbook actually gets into the installer but obviously won't let me install because PB doesn't match the Macbook specs. My main disc is a black retail version though.

I read about the target mode. I will probably try that as soon as I can acquire a firewire cable. Since I don't own any FW devices (and never have) I don't have one. Removing scratches does seem like an interesting idea but mine are fairly deep and numerous, I'm not sure they'll go away easily.